Download Probiotic Bacteria May Influence Brain Fatty Acid Composition

Press Release
11 April 2012
Probiotic Bacteria may influence brain fatty acid composition
Designer probiotic bacteria have the potential to alter brain fatty acid composition according
to new research published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The research, carried out by Dr. Rebecca Wall and Dr Catherine Stanton and their colleagues
at the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre and
University College Cork, demonstrated that mice fed with Bifidobacterium breve NCIMB
702258 and Bifidobacterium breve DPC6330 had altered brain fatty acids and gut microbiota.
‘The finding that bacteria in our gut influence brain fatty acid composition opens up new
possibilities for the use of probiotic foods in the promotion of human health and mental well
being”, said Catherine Stanton, senior author on the publication and Principal Investigator at
the Science Foundation Ireland funded Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, at Teagasc.
The researchers showed that mice fed with the conjugated linoleic acid CLA-producing
bacterium B. breve NCIMB 702258 had increased levels of two fatty acids ARA and DHA,
which play important roles in neurogenesis, neurotransmission and protection against
oxidative stress and whose levels in the brain influence cognition.
The researchers also showed that feeding with the CLA-producing B. breve strains is strain
dependent on both the fatty acid composition of the mouse brain and on the microbial
community in the gut.
These findings could lead to designer probiotics for improved cognition and brain function.
CLA is a fatty acid that is produced in different versions by different bacteria. Previously, Dr
Stanton’s group have demonstrated that gut microbes have an impact on host metabolism,
and in particular fat composition in liver and adipose tissue in different animal species. They
have also shown that microbially produced CLA may have a role in the prevention and
treatment of obesity and that CLA was able to reduce the viability of colon cancer cells by
92%.
The research is published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2012; Authors: Rebecca Wall, Tatiana M Marques, Orla O'Sullivan, R Paul Ross, Fergus
Shanahan, Eamonn M Quigley, Timothy G Dinan, Barry Kiely, Gerald F Fitzgerald, Paul D
Cotter, Fiona Fouhy, and Catherine Stanton “Contrasting effects of Bifidobacterium breve
NCIMB 702258 and Bifidobacterium breve DPC 6330 on the composition of murine brain
fatty acids and gut microbiota” Am J Clin Nutr 2012 ajcn.026435; First published online
April 4, 2012. doi:10.3945/ajcn.111.026435
ENDS
For further information please contact Dr Catherine Stanton 025 42606; 087 2499478 or Dr
Catherine Buckley, Communications and Outreach Manager, Alimentary Pharmabiotic
Centre, 086 8554744
About the APC
The Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, (APC; http://apc.ucc.ie) is a research centre funded by
Science Foundation Ireland and industry partners. The APC, a partnership between
University College Cork, Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority,
and the Cork Institute of Technology, focuses on research in gastrointestinal health.
Pharmabiotic is a neologism devised by the APC to represent any material (including
molecules and microbes) originating from the gut ecosystem that can be exploited for a health
benefit, and includes probiotics, prebiotics, metabolites, and potential new anti-microbials
and anti-inflammatories. The independent international ratings agency Thomson Reuters
Science Watch global analysis, has ranked University College Cork at number 2 in the world
for probiotics research, due primarily to publications from researchers in the Alimentary
Pharmabiotic Centre ( http://sciencewatch.com/ana/st/probiotics/institution/